Kenneth A. Chacey
Office of Spent Nuclear Fuel
Management
United States Department of Energy
Ibrahim H. Zeitoun and Elizabeth C. Saris
Science
Applications International Corporation
ABSTRACT
A significant step was made in 1996 with the establishment of a new nuclear weapons nonproliferation policy concerning foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel. Specifically, the United States will accept, over a 13-year period, up to 20 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel from 41 countries. Only spent fuel containing uranium enriched in the United States is covered under this policy. Since the acceptance policy took effect on May 13, 1996, the Department of Energy has undertaken a number of steps to effectively implement the policy. An Implementation Strategy Plan, Mitigation Action Plan, and detailed Transportation Plans have been developed. Other activities include: foreign research reactor assessments; the establishment of contracts with reactor operators and shipping agents; and the determination of shipment priorities and schedules. The first shipment under the acceptance policy was received into the United States in September 1996. A second shipment was received from Canada in December 1996. The next shipment of foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel is expected from Europe in early March 1997. The primary challenge for the Department of Energy is to continue to transport this material in a consistent, cost-effective manner over the 13-year duration of the program.
BACKGROUND
The decision to adopt the Foreign Research Reactor spent nuclear fuel acceptance policy furthers United States nuclear weapons nonproliferation objectives to reduce and eventually eliminate highly enriched uranium from international commerce. The acceptance policy is also key to the continued commitment and participation of research reactor operators in the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors (RERTR) program, a key U.S. nuclear weapons nonproliferation program initiative. Reducing the threat of nuclear weapons proliferation while enjoying the benefits of nuclear technology is one of the foremost goals of the United States and many other nations. By encouraging reactors to convert from highly enriched uranium fuels to low-enriched uranium fuels, the RERTR program embodies the goals of sharing peaceful nuclear technology and reducing nuclear danger.
Since the program's inception in 1978, 26 research reactors worldwide (including nine U.S. reactors) are fully or partially converted to use of low-enriched uranium fuels. Many other research reactors are in different stages of the LEU conversion process. Since research reactors are the major civilian users of HEU, their continued support of the RERTR program is critical. Limiting the use and location of HEU abroad serves the security interests of both the United States and the international community as a whole.
THE ACCEPTANCE POLICY
The implementation of the new policy to accept research reactor spent nuclear fuel into the United States from other nations is a top priority of the Department of Energy. Last year, at this time, the Department of Energy completed the final environmental impact statement -- an evaluation of the potential environmental impacts of adopting a spent fuel acceptance policy. The Department of Energy's preferred management approach, which was to receive the spent fuel into the United States, was identified. The analyses in the final environmental impact statement demonstrate that the impacts on either the environment, workers, or the public from implementing the acceptance program are estimated to be small and well within the applicable regulatory limits.
In May 1996, the United States Department of Energy, in consultation with the United States Department of State, issued a new research reactor spent nuclear fuel acceptance policy, as specified in the Record of Decision on a Nuclear Weapons Nonproliferation Policy Concerning Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel. This decision was reached after several years of intense environmental review and negotiations to strike a balance between national and international interests. While the decision to adopt an acceptance policy was key to the continued commitment and participation of research reactors in the RERTR program, it also took into consideration the concerns of affected communities in the United States. The new policy applies only to aluminum-based and TRIGA research reactor spent nuclear fuel and target material containing uranium enriched in the United States. Spent nuclear fuel and target material will be received from 41 countries that have research reactors that either already converted to or have plans to convert to the use of LEU fuels.
For thirty years, until 1988 when the United States Offsite Fuels Policy expired, the United States accepted HEU spent fuel from these countries. In total, just over 8 metric tons of uranium was returned, the majority from EURATOM countries. Under the new acceptance policy, the United States will accept and manage approximately 20 metric tons of heavy metal of spent nuclear fuel and target material. Of that amount, 5 metric tons contains HEU. This amount of material is the amount that is currently in storage at eligible facilities plus that which has been estimated to be irradiated over the next ten years. The Department of Energy established very clear rules of eligibility for receipt of spent fuel by the United States, rules designed to support the RERTR program and promote reactor conversions.
The aluminum-based spent fuel will be managed at the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in South Carolina, and the non aluminum-based spent fuel will be managed at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory in Idaho. Shipments will be received by sea through the Charleston Naval Weapons Station in South Carolina and the Concord Naval Weapons Station in California and will proceed to the Department of Energy management sites by either truck or rail. Canadian shipments will be received into the United States overland by truck. Up to 698 casks will be received at the Charleston Naval Weapons Station and up to 38 casks at the Concord Naval Weapons Station over the 13 year duration of the shipping program, with an estimated 290 casks shipped over the next five years.
The duration of the policy is ten years starting on May 13, 1996. Fuel irradiated during that ten year window will be accepted over a 13-year period. The United States believes that a ten-year policy duration provides sufficient lead time to allow reactor operators and their host nations to develop and implement solutions for the disposition of their spent fuel and provides the United States sufficient time to accept the amount of spent fuel eligible under the policy. The United States is ready to cooperate with interested countries in developing new, viable solutions for the management of this spent fuel to provide a solution to the back end of the research reactor fuel cycle after the acceptance policy expires in 2006.
In order to gain public acceptance for interim storage of spent nuclear fuel, the Department of Energy has committed to storing spent fuel in "road ready" condition. In other words, the stored spent fuel will be in a form ready to be transported offsite for disposal as soon as the repository is ready. The Department of Energy has already established a technical strategy for managing aluminum-based spent nuclear fuel, which is to develop and demonstrate "environmentally-friendly" technologies for the treatment, packaging, and disposal of this spent fuel. The Department's goal is to demonstrate such technologies by the year 2000. In the spring of last year, the Department of Energy formed a task team to evaluate technologies for storage and disposal of non aluminum-based spent nuclear fuel. The task team has formulated a recommended technical strategy for the management of this spent fuel and a report will be issued this spring.
If a new technology is not ready for implementation by 2000, the Department may consider processing a limited amount of aluminum-based spent fuel at the Savannah River Site's F-Canyon facility while it is operating to stabilize other materials. The Department intends to conduct an in-depth study of the proliferation issues associated with a potential decision to process spent fuel. A Record of Decision would be issued approximately mid-1999 (or sooner if possible) to announce the Department's future management plans for spent research reactor fuel based on the results of the Department's technology development program.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ACCEPTANCE POLICY
Implementing the acceptance policy has not been an easy task. Since the decision to adopt the acceptance policy was made, an Implementation Strategy Plan was developed that provided a timeline for activities, and operations and logistics requirements. Detailed transportation plans were subsequently developed by the Savannah River Site and Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, with participation from Tribal, State, and local officials, to further specify roles and responsibilities, emergency and communications procedures, routing, and training requirements. A Mitigation Action Plan was also developed, in accordance with the Record of Decision, which presents the steps DOE will take, throughout the program, to minimize the likelihood of radiation exposures to port and transportation workers above the regulatory limit established for the general public. In July 1996, the Record of Decision was revised to provide DOE the ability to take title to the spent fuel where it deemed appropriate. Since the policy took effect, the Secretary of Energy and senior management at the Department of Energy have been involved in extensive negotiations with affected State and local officials in the United States, other United States government agencies, various international organizations and governments, and research reactor operators and shipping agents. These negotiations cleared the path needed to assure the successful implementation of the new policy. Reestablishing international credibility in the United States' capability to successfully implement this program was recognized by these officials as a key element in the success of the program.
In addition to these activities, a number of actions were taken at home to clear the way for implementation of the policy. In particular, Department of Energy representatives met several times with elected officials and other authorities in the affected port communities in California and South Carolina to answer questions, provide necessary information, and to involve them in the transportation planning process. Moreover, the State of South Carolina legally challenged the Department of Energy's decision to accept research reactor spent fuel but did not prevail in their motion for a preliminary injunction enjoining the Department of Energy from allowing any research reactor spent fuel from other countries to enter the United States. The Department of Energy also prevailed in its response to the State's full complaint concerning the adequacy of the environmental impact statement. The Court determined that the environmental impact statement was adequate in its consideration and disclosure of information relative to conditions at certain facilities at the Savannah River Site.
In September 1996, the United States received the first shipment of spent nuclear fuel under the acceptance policy. This first shipment included the receipt of 6 casks containing aluminum-based spent fuel from research reactors in Europe (Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland) and 2 casks from South America (Chile and Colombia). The first shipment from Canada was received in December 1996. The next shipment under the acceptance policy is scheduled to arrive at the Savannah River Site in early March 1997 from Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Spain. The first TRIGA spent fuel shipment to the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory is scheduled for fall 1997 from Asia. Overall, the United States anticipates receiving about 1-2 shipments per month during the program's duration. We are making every effort to consolidate shipments from nearby countries as much as possible to minimize costs and to honor our commitment to port communities to minimize shipments in response to local concern about potential shipping impacts, perceived risks, and public demonstrations at the ports.
Several actions are underway to support these shipments and provide relief to as many facilities as quickly as possible. The Department of Energy and the Department of State have engaged in discussions with various governments and reactor operators, which have led to contracts for spent fuel acceptance that have either been signed or are under negotiation. The Department is collecting data on spent fuel characteristics from a number of research reactors through existing documentation and site visits. Recently, Department of Energy staff visited South American countries, including Colombia, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil, and in Asia including: South Korea, Indonesia, and Thailand. The site visits and the review of spent fuel data help the Department of Energy in its own preparations to receive the fuel and in establishing shipment schedule priorities.
NEXT STEPS/CLOSING
DOE is currently developing the schedule for foreign research reactor spent fuel shipments taking place over the next few years. The schedule will take into account factors such as U.S. nuclear weapons nonproliferation concerns, capacity at each reactor site, regional diversification, equity between high income economy countries and countries with other than high income economies., national regulation, and availability of transport vessels and spent fuel casks.
The primary challenge for the Department of Energy is to continue to transport this material in a consistent, cost-effective manner over the 13-year duration of the program. By continuing to develop a sound track record in executing safe and secure foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel shipments, the Department will successfully implement the foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel acceptance program to its completion.